LSO Presents First-Plymouth Pipes

LINCOLN – Lincoln’s Symphony Orchestra returns to the stage for its fourth classical concert of the season, “First-Plymouth Pipes,” Friday, April 8 and Saturday, April 9, at 7:30 PM at First-Plymouth Church. Conducted by Music Director Edward Polochick, this concert features Tom Trenney at the organ, Doane Choir, The Abendmusik Chorus, pianist Jeffrey Biegel, and composer Jake Runestad for an exciting world-premiere.

To open this two-night series, Lincoln’s Symphony Orchestra will perform Samuel Barber’s Toccata festiva, featuring Tom Trenney at the Lied Organ. Up next are two choral compositions by Jake Runestad, beginning with a world premiere of A Gaelic Prayer, commissioned by Tom Trenney for Doane Choir and Abendmusik Chorus. Tom Trenney shares his thoughts on the commission:

“To express my gratitude to the beautiful people who sing in two choirs closest to my heart– the Plymouth Choir and Doane Choir– I decided to commission a new piece by “superstar” composer Jake Runestad. We will experience the world premiere of “Gaelic Prayer,” and it is a particular joy to have the composer here to guide our performance. This traditional “Gaelic Prayer” gently and powerfully expresses God’s faithfulness and constancy, God’s unending love for us– in spite of our shortcomings and ever-changing circumstances. It’s message is amplified by the composer’s thoughtful and elegant writing which musically opens from the ‘mist’ and ‘clouds’ to the proclamation of it’s truth: ‘…though I may stumble in my going, you do not fall.’”

The choirs will also perform of A Gaelic Prayer during the Sunday, April 10 10:30 AM service at First-Plymouth Church.

Next on the LSO concert is Dreams of the Fallen, a work for piano, chorus, and orchestra commissioned in part by pianist Jeffrey Biegel, who is the soloist for both performances. The text, written by Iraq War veteran and award-winning poet Brian Turner, explores the soldier’s emotional response to the experience of war.

In addition to working with the orchestra and choirs, Jake Runestad will spend four days in Lincoln working with collegiate students and Lincoln-area high school students. Jeffrey Biegel will give a master class for piano students at Doane College.

“While finding organs in churches is not a difficult thing to do, it is hard to find an instrument that is as expressive as the Lied Organ at First-Plymouth. Built by the Schoenstein Organ Company from Northern California, this instrument is perfectly suited to accompany soloists, choirs, instrumentalists, and ensembles of all sizes. While some organs would struggle to keep up with a full orchestra, the Lied Organ is perfectly suited to play a soloist and accompanying role in a concert with Lincoln’s Symphony. One of the unique features of the Lied Organ is its double expression. The sounds of the organ that are the softest and the loudest are actually placed behind two sets of doors that allow those sounds to speak clearly into the wonderful acoustics of First-Plymouth Church, or keep it to a soft whisper that is barely audible!”

NET Radio’s Genevieve Randall and Lora Black will host a pre-concert chat in the Chapel at 6:45 PM both nights. These chats are sponsored by The Landing, an Immanuel Community, and precede every classical concert.

In an effort to make all LSO concerts as accessible as possible, LSO continues to offer lower ticket prices for its fourth season at the Lied Center for Performing Arts. Concert tickets are available for $15 and $30 each, inclusive of all ticketing and handling fees. Tickets for youth 17 and under are available for $5, made possible by the Lienemann Charitable Foundation. Tickets can be ordered online at www.lincolnsymphony.org, or by calling LSO at (402) 476-2211.

LSO’s corporate sponsor for “First-Plymouth Pipes” is Mattson Ricketts. The media sponsor is Spirit 102.7. This program is funded in part by Humanities Nebraska. The Nebraska Arts Council and the Nebraska Cultural Endowment also provided generous support toward LSO’s 2015-2016 season.